It started as a perfectly ordinary TV interview between an ageing rocker and the gang from Ten's nightly news and entertainment panel show, The Project. But within minutes something had gone badly wrong, and Johnny Rotten lived up to his name.

Whoever you are, shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

The former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon - stage name: Johnny Rotten - had agreed to an interview with the show. The program crossed to the backstage area of his Brisbane show.

The interview sailed through a series of routine questions about his tour, performing on stage and writing music but things went off the rails when one of The Project's panellists, Carrie Bickmore, turned the conversation to the death of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Advertisement

Lydon became agitated, not because of the question, but because he felt she had interrupted him.

His tone, and the apparent misogyny of his words, caused an audible reaction from The Project's studio audience.

Bickmore graciously tried to go on, smiling, and saying: "There was a break, I thought you had finished, please go on."

"Stop it, you sound like one of them [sic] dreadful loud birds I don't like. You be polite," Lydon continued.

"That's really offensive," replied Bickmore.

"So are you. You've got to learn more respect and manners," he shot back.

Lydon then became agitated that Bickmore and the other panellists were speaking too loudly into his earpiece. "You've got to take it down a couple of thousand notches," he said.

Rotten also made what appeared to be the Nazi salute - the same one which got Greek soccer player Giorgos Katidis a life ban from the sport in March - which also caused an audible reaction from the audience.

Lydon referred to himself as a "a proper master of the universe" when he made the gesture.

One of the panellists, comedian Dave Hughes, terminated the interview prematurely.

Afterwards, Bickmore was visibly containing her anger.

"I went with it at first because bad press is his thing, but his thing ain't funny, and it's damn rude," Bickmore said.

"I know everyone will say that's his thing, he loves being controversial and you've just given him airtime, but there's a difference between being controversial and just being rude," she finished.

434 comments

Glory be, the front man of the sex pistols and PiL was rude on tv.....gee. Any one who would take offense to anything this old geezer would say needs to have some serious work done. His opinion lost relevency about 40 years ago and even then, well.

Commenter

Rossco

Location

Robina

Date and time

April 10, 2013, 10:07AM

I am an anarCHIST-a

I am an anarCHIST-a

I am an anarCHIST-a

woo hoo !!

At least he's always had something to say, unlike the trivial and trite panel on The Project.

The guy's a legend.

Commenter

sarajane

Location

melbourne

Date and time

April 10, 2013, 10:32AM

@sarajane I hope that you enjoy his views that you, as a woman, should be quiet when a man is talking. He thinks that you are second class to not just him and all males, yeah what a legend.

Commenter

nom

Location

Date and time

April 10, 2013, 11:09AM

Bickmore is a very grating interviewer. Good to see Lyndon giving it back.

Commenter

Problem?

Location

Date and time

April 10, 2013, 11:15AM

Uninspiring show that really needs the axe- just look at the word power of the guests with 'something to say'.Why, I just had a misogynistic steak and mushroom pie with sauce and I nearly tripped over a misogynist tree branch this morning. Now I've got to use some grease-cutting misogynist dish washing liquid to help me scrub away misogynist...

#Hey programmer at ten- do you think you could buy the Tron series that has been airing in the U.S. for the last six months as it's got some really good reviews and I can't be bothered downloading it?--------------------------

On the subject of Thatcher and what she stood for isn't it interesting that a new poll in the U.S. showed that 3 out of 4 Americans would vote for Ronald Reagan over obama if Reagan were running today. In fact if Reagan was running against obama now, Reagan would garner 58% of the vote.

Thatcher and Reagan had identical policies for the most part.

Now I ain't a 'with it' misogynist tv doctor but I reckon that needs some analysis because I don't believe the yanks yearn for his leadership due to the crap films he starred in.

# I reckon if a poll here asked if people would vote for Howard now over julia, that Aussies would prefer Howard too.

Commenter

Alex

Location

Finley

Date and time

April 10, 2013, 11:20AM

Nobody had heard of John Lydon 40 years ago, well.

Commenter

Stu

Location

Sydney

Date and time

April 10, 2013, 11:22AM

well guys, first things first - why you choose him for interview? you want it , you got it.

Commenter

It was good

Location

back then

Date and time

April 10, 2013, 11:27AM

This guy's nickname is Johnny Rotten, he's notorious for giving interviews laced wih beer, burps, bad language, and abuse. What did these "TV Stars" expect, a cultured English gentleman? There's no such thing as "bad publicity". If he behaved himself, no one would even know he was in Australia.

Commenter

Brian Harry

Location

Tweed Heads NSW

Date and time

April 10, 2013, 11:31AM

Lefties eating each other. Lovely.

Commenter

Gegsy

Location

Auchenflower

Date and time

April 10, 2013, 11:35AM

He totally owned them all. Did they know of the name and not the band/story!? I thought Charlie was educated at least!? (Even if not Pistols / PIL fans...)

This guy is a guerilla marketing genius, made you look like idiots and gets loads of publicity from it. Too perfect... baited like clowns.

But the panel were alll PREEEETTY!!!! A PRETTY VAAAC-CANT! (But we don't care........)